Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Dr. Susan Rudnicki of Dunwoody discusses Bullying

The social phenomenon of bullying has recently caught the attention of the media (again) in light of the teen suicides related to victims of bullying as well as the television news anchor who had been receiving emails about her weight. Bullying is characterized as a form of aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful (physical or psychological) and/or threatening and persistent. It has been a pervasive problem throughout society, though it occurs in more serious and intense forms today due to social media. Bullying has become more open to the public and more people jump in, creating a more catastrophic emotional impact for the victim.

Victims of bullying are prone to emotional, physiological, and
behavioral problems. They are more likely to experience depression,
loneliness, anxiety, difficulty sleeping and eating, a sense of shame
and worthlessness, a lack of control, or posttraumatic stress disorder.
In terms of physical health, they have greater likelihood of having
colds, a suppressed immune system, headaches, and stomachaches. Certain
behavioral responses to bullying include greater refusal to attend
school, school absenteeism, and dropping out of school. Teen victims who
engage in self-cutting and other suicidal behaviors, use drugs and
alcohol, become promiscuous, or join gang-related activity are looking
for acceptance from their peers, stemming from a feeling of desperation
and emotional heartache.

How do we as a society tackle bullying behavior? First, we need to
teach our children about bullying and what it looks like at an early
age; that bullies force people to do things that they don’t want to do
or that which makes them feel uncomfortable. We need to implement a
climate of accountability such that the bullies receive consequences for
the detrimental behavior (such behaviors ranging from name-calling and
put-downs, hitting, threatening with intimidation tactics, and
harassment). It is important that parents do not get sucked into the
bully’s excuses and emotions as to the reasons for their behavior. There
should not only be a discussion about their wrongdoing even if they
become angry or throw a temper tantrum. Parents need to learn how to not
be afraid of their children’s anger and remain consistent with
implementing consequences, such as taking away electronics, phone, time
with friends, etc. School personnel need to implement a zero-tolerance
policy and follow through with sequential discipline tactics for such
behavior. For example, a first bullying offense would lead to detention;
a second offense to in-school suspension; a third offense to
out-of-school suspension, and so on.

Another integral component to managing bullying behavior is to teach
healthy social problem-solving skills to kids. They need to learn how to
deal with their emotions without acting out behaviorally and without
using control and intimidation tactics to get with they want (which has
been reinforced either by getting away with such negative behavior or
through social modeling from watching influential adults). Children and
teens need to learn how to resolve conflicts by accepting compromise,
sacrifice, sharing, and dealing with injustice — even when such values
are emotionally challenging. Equally as important is that we need to
encourage children to do activities in which they are successful (such
as sports, band, drama, art) apart from their focus of social
acceptance. These successes will lead to enhanced self-confidence, in
fact for both bullies and victims, which in turn will decrease their
desire to hurt others’ feelings.

Overall, bullies need to learn to accept responsibility for their
behavior and that their shortcomings are not someone else’s fault.
Similarly, adults should be mindful of taking to heart what their
children/students tell them about being bullied and not downplay these
social scenarios as “just being kids.” As a society, we can combat the
frequency of bullying behaviors by modeling positive social behaviors
for our children and by practicing what we preach.

2 comments:

Another day's stint in the free worldbegins here in the donut shop. Standing in linewondering how many cheese Danish and apple frittersas well as donuts I should buy, while the creamy girlsin their summer dresses are licking their profiteroles,I see myself as a boy in the summer of 1953salting sliced tomatoes with my grandfatherin the white shirt he wore. The kitchen was big and sweet.The breeze from the electric fan swung by us and away.The oilcloth on the table was cool and slick.The leaves of the tree of heaven dappled the still.In line in the donut shop is a man in a straw hatbetween a woman in pigtails and a boy with large eyes.Gramps was a boxer in his younger days, semiprofessional.He watched the Wednesday night fights on our TV.In his last autumn he taught me to box.He set up punching bags in his basement.He taped newspapers to the windows. He named me Spike.He got me to shadowbox next to the coal bin.He kept me at it hard till it felt like forever.When the time came, he arranged a boutwith Mike Donnelly from down the street.Mike struck the top of my head at once and down I came.He helped me up from the floor and went home.I was eleven. I wasn't fast or clever. This was the autumnafter the summer they fried the Rosenbergs.Gramps walked me down to the corner to get the Free Press.The photograph showed their bodies on the front page.He tugged my hand and kept me from seeing it.We mark these solitudes throughout our lives.This is not simply about things as they are.This is about donuts, profiteroles, and straw hats.Things cannot be as they are in this country.

Heneghan Philosophy on Public Service

As a long time resident of the Dunwoody North community who created this blog to fulfill two ideals. First is that when I have the ability to make a difference, I have a responsibility to do so and second, transparency in Government breeds self-corrective behavior.

After the creation of the City of Dunwoody which I worked to establish, I stepped down from being the President of the Dunwoody North Civic Association to run for a seat on the new City Council. Since my election in 2008, I have prided myself of posting every public document and agenda item to this blog for all to see.